You won, Aniki
by FastForward
Summary: How would Sasuke feel if he finally achieved his goal and managed to kill Itachi? How would he be able to continue living knowing nothing could ever return to the way it used to be?


**One-shot fic from Sasuke Uchiha's point of view from the Anime "Naruto". Slight spoiler if you're not up-to-date with the anime or manga. Basically, it's Sasuke's emotions and thoughts after having killed his brother, Itachi. **

**Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to K. Masashi, not me. I kinda wish it they did, but they don't.**

_It's done,_ I thought as I panted, the pain in my arm receding considerably when I repeated the two words once again. _It's done._ And it _was_ done. I had done it. I'd finally defeated Itachi. I'd finally killed him. My proof was the bloody mass before me, covered in cuts and shuriken and kunais. His black hair had come out of his ponytail sometime during our fight and was now matted against his face, drenched in blood. He lay in a rapidly expanding pool of his own blood, but I knew some of it was mine, too.

The katana fell easily from my hand and the metal made a slight 'clink' noise as it hit a tree root. I stumbled sideways, leaning against a tree to keep myself standing. The pain in my arm was slowly beginning to disappear and I could feel my arm going numb. That was a bad sign.

"But who cares?" I whispered aloud, a grin forming on my beaten face. "It's done. I did it. I won." If this was true, though, why did I feel so empty inside?

I slowly sank to the ground, keeping all my weight against the tree. I sat beside it, staring at my brother. His Akatsuki cloak was darkened by the blood that had seeped into it, and when the sun hit it just right, one could see the red glint of the blood off the black material.

I raised my bloody hands, staring at the cuts that had appeared during our fight. These hands had done this? These hands which had once been so small and weak had taken down the killer of the Uchiha clan?

I let them drop back to the ground, staring at Itachi. I hadn't even had to go to stage two. Heck, I hadn't even had to go into stage one. It was strange, really. He'd been trying, I could tell. I saw it in his eyes. The fear. It was intoxicating. I'd never seen fear in those red eyes of his. To have him looking at _me_ in fear—everything seemed perfect. He deserved to be afraid. But then—how had I beaten him? It wasn't like I hadn't tried this hard every other time. Or maybe it was the new training with Orochimaru.

"Who cares what it is?" I asked myself aloud. "It's done. It's over." I struggled to my feet, using the tree to help me raise myself. I stumbled towards Itachi's body and kicked it as hard as I could, sending it sliding along the ground a bit. I was still pretty weak from our fight, so I knew he wouldn't go far, but just kicking him made me smile. I turned and began making my way out of the forest.

"So long, asshole." I stumbled on a tree root and almost fell on my face, but I managed to regain my balance.

I had to stop. This ache—in my chest. It wasn't going away and it was starting to blur my vision. I fell down beside another tree, trying to figure out what was wrong. I wasn't injured there, and I was fairly certain he hadn't even touched my chest at all. So why... It dawned on me. The reason. The ache in my chest. It was the feeling of—accomplishment.

It made no sense, but at the same time, it did. I'd accomplished my mission, but now, that meant I had no purpose anymore. The only reason I'd lived this long was to kill Itachi, and now, I had. He was dead, and everything was right in the world. But now, what was I to do with my life?

I scoffed, "I guess I never actually thought I would win." I whispered to myself.

It was true. My whole life had been devoted to killing Itachi, and I imagined our war would continue until I eventually died. I never thought I would kill him. Did I regret it? I laughed aloud. Of course I didn't regret it! I was glad he was dead, but what was I supposed to do now?

I wasn't sure how long I'd been sitting there, but I could see a pool of blood steadily forming beneath my wounded arm. I'd have to take care of that soon or risk bleeding to death. But then, would that be so bad? What could I do now?

If I returned to Orochimaru, he would force me to continue training so his 'body' remained perfect. But without Itachi to motivate me, what would be the point of training?

I couldn't return to Konoha, not after what I'd done. I still didn't even know if Naruto was still alive. Had I actually succeeded in killing him? The stupid _dobe_ better not have died, or I'll be really angry.

There was nowhere for me to go anymore... Nothing left for me to do... My life had no purpose without Itachi. He was the only reason I was alive.

"I may have killed you," I whispered to Itachi, "but you won, Aniki." I admitted, silent tears slowly falling down my cheeks.


End file.
